Images of coastal houses being carried off into the sea due to eroding coastlines and powerful storm surges are becoming more commonplace as climate change brings a rising sea level coupled with more powerful storms. In the U.S. alone, coastal storms caused $165 billion in losses in 2022.

Now, a study from MIT shows that protecting and enhancing salt marshes in front of protective seawalls can significantly help protect some coastlines, at a cost that makes this approach reasonable to implement.

The new findings are being reported in the journal Communications Earth and Environment, in a paper by MIT graduate student Ernie I. H. Lee and professor of civil and environmental engineering Heidi Nepf. This study, Nepf says, shows that restoring coastal marshes “is not just something that would be nice to do, but it’s actually economically justifiable.” The researchers found that, among other things, the wave-attenuating effects of salt marsh mean that the seawall behind it can be built significantly lower, reducing construction cost while still providing as much protection from storms.

Read More: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Caption: Graduate student Ernie I. H. Lee uses drone imaging and machine learning to help map salt marsh species, plant height, and shoots per bed area. (Photo Credit: Courtesy of the researchers)

Exploring how volatile organic compounds (VOCs) enhance plant defense and offer sustainable pest control solutions.

Gardens offer a steady and reliable source of nectar all year round, helping to keep pollinators fed when farmland sources are limited, researchers have discovered.

Rapid warming has impacted the northern ecosystem so significantly that scientists are concerned the region’s vegetation is losing the ability to recover from climate shocks, suggests a new study.

A new review study in Nature Communications is the first to systematically show the harmful effects of nano- and microplastics on bees and other beneficial insects. Their function as pollinators is impaired by the plastic particles. 

Chickpeas are a drought-resistant legume plant with a high protein content.

When most people think of fungi, they think of the part you can see: mushroom caps poking through the soil.

Dozens of studies have demonstrated that nitrogen pollution, due mainly to the burning of fossil fuels and agricultural practices, is causing plant biodiversity losses worldwide.

Although all ecosystems are affected by a changing climate, the impacts can take a while to appear.

Some people believe that talking to your plants makes them thrive.